Cougars Upset Lobos on Senior Night

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PROVO -- In the last home match of the 2010 season, the BYU women’s volleyball team (13-15, 8-6 MWC) defeated New Mexico (19-9, 11-4 MWC), ranked No. 2 Mountain West Conference.

"Our passing has definitely improved, making us able to pick up the ball and put it away like we did tonight," BYU head coach Shay Goulding said. "Our defense has steadily increased every match and tonight was an example of how I know we can play."

Going out strong in her last home match as a Cougar, Christina Measom tallied 14 kills on .407 hitting while junior Christie Carpenter led the team with 15 kills. Jennifer Hamson was also in double-digit kills with 13.

Senior setter Kiana Rogers tallied four kills and 48 assists while libero Kendalyn Hartsock had 25 digs and Coriann Clark added 13 digs. The team finished the night with 15.0 team blocks, led by sophomore Nicole Warner with seven assisted blocks and one solo block.

The Cougars started out the match hitting .256 over the Lobos’ .051, taking set one 25-20. A four-point rally late in the game gave BYU a five-point lead with kills from Warner and Carpenter and a huge solo block from Measom. The Lobos were able to score four more points until Carpenter and Snow finished off the set with back-to-back kills.

Carpenter dominated the offensive attack for the Cougars in the first set, posting five kills on .364 hitting.

With five-straight Lobo points ending at 15-9, the Cougars struggled to gain the lead. A late 6-1 surge ending at 24-22 wasn’t enough to come out with another win in set two, falling 25-22.

Coming out of the break with sets tied, the Cougars started off hot with six-straight points, forcing a Lobo timeout at 4-0. The Lobos came within four with a 4-0 run, but BYU eventually tallied an 11-point lead to later take set three 25-15.

As a team, the Cougars hit .500 in set three, led by Hamson with five kills on a .625 clip.

Starting off strong in set four, the Cougars led at 8-4 early on. The Lobos gently chipped away at the score, but four-consecutive Snow kills gave BYU a six-point lead at 19-13, forcing the Lobos to call a timeout. The Cougars maintained the lead for the remainder of the set despite two late 3-0 Lobo runs, winning the set and match, 25-21, 3-1.

Before the match began, the seniors were honored, including Christina Measom, Kiana Rogers, Stephanie Snow and Brooke Soon.

"This win means a lot going into our two last road games," Goulding said. "We've lacked confidence and proof to come out with a win like tonight, but now we have proof that we can beat good teams."

The Cougars will finish off the season on the road, traveling to Wyoming Wednesday to play at 7 p.m. and later to play Colorado State Friday at 7 p.m.